Date of Conferral

9-23-2026

Date of Award

September 2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Sciences

Advisor

Edward Irobi

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) patients have the lowest 5-year cancer survival rates due, in part, to the time it takes for symptoms to develop and the presence of one to four high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (HRCA). The Terminal Nucleotidyltransferases 5 (TENT5) subfamily, which regulates myeloma cell migration and tumorigenesis, may also increase the risk for developing MM and impact survival rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the number of HRCA and TENT5 mutation hits with disease outcomes in MM patients while controlling for the stage of the disease (i.e., I, II, or III) at diagnosis. The Multistep Molecular Pathogenesis model was the theoretical model for this study. This quantitative retrospective cross-sectional study utilized data from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) CoMMpass repository, which contained genetic and clinical information from newly diagnosed symptomatic MM patients from 76 cancer centers in the United States, Canada, Spain, and Italy. Data analysis using SPSS v29 was conducted using multivariate logistic regression to assess the relationships between HRCA and/or TENT5 mutations and disease outcomes in MM patients. Of the repository’s population, N = 298 cases met the criteria for inclusion in the present study, including at least one HRCA. Results revealed a statistically significant association between HRCA mutations and TENT5C mutation status, p = .031, 95% CI [1.23, 72.22]. However, the HRCA, TENT5C, and mixed model did not have a statistically significant association with disease outcome, p = .089, 95% CI [0.69, 199.56]. Earlier identification of high-risk patients and improved risk stratification could provide social change to reduce disease complications and healthcare burden in MM.

Download

Included in

Public Health Commons

Share

 
COinS